By Kristan Higgins

10/16/2023 re-read on audible.
This one did not hold up as well as most of KH’s books on audible. Posey got on my last nerve with her constant obsessing over her physical reaction to Liam’s hotness. “Meowing Lady Parts” indeed. Blech! Also Liam’s over the top over protectiveness of his daughter Nicole was very unhealthy. Nicole could handle it and her love for and understanding of her father was touching. I just felt sorry for the nice boy who dared to want to date her. Liam was mean and bullying. Most everything else was great though. This one had a lot of terrific things in it still. Especially that will at the end. As I mentioned in my first review below, the nature of Posey’s love was even more suspect on this reading. It really seemed like a juvenile crush than real mature love. Dropping one star.
**original review**

I loved this one by KH. It has everything I have come to expect, which I won’t list here. Suffice it to say this has all of the humor and brief episodes of heartbreak that most of her books do. The character of Liam was very unusual as he was a hot bad boy, but with mental health issues which softened and made his character really interesting, 3 dimensional, and lovable. I do want to respond to the main complaint about this book, which is that some did not “feel the love” that Liam had for Posey. That he was too hung up on his first wife. His marriage was based on puppy love, love at first sight, and the longer they were married, the further apart they grew. Liam was not happy. His wife was not happy. The only thing they had in common was their child. That is made crystal clear.
Liam’s love for Posey was a mature love. He needed her. She healed him. For those who mistake shallow gooiness for love, you will be disappointed in this book. No groveling, which some readers seem to yearn for. Just repentance, understanding, and forgiveness. If anything, Posey’s love for Liam was suspect, more like a crush, not the other way around.

Also, I must add that this book contains one of my Kristan Higgins favorite scenes which is Liam’s confrontation with his mother-in-law and father-in-law.
Priceless. And Joe, the kitty. Tears, yes, but the way she brought it full circle in the end was wonderful. **5 stars out of 5**

September 29, 2015

By Kristan Higgins

**addendum to original review 06/30/23**
Yes, this was as good as I remembered it. So lighthearted, funny, and romantic. I think Ian might be one of KH’s most intriguing heroes, and the match with Callie is inspired opposites attract. I loved that Callie’s people-pleasing ways were not apologized for. She does grow away from that a little bit by the end. But Gosh darn, she is just a very very nice, upbeat, and cheerful person and people just like her! It was an interesting blow to her when Ian’s difficult mother did not love or approve of her. Anyway, although the end was very happy and satisfying, I did have an issue with a few things that led to that happy conclusion. **Spoiler**

First, her leaving her $30,000 dollar Morelock chair on Ian’s porch while he was out of town really really rubbed me the wrong way. First, it was stupid. Anyone could have stolen it. And it came across as manipulative and trying to buy his forgiveness. The second thing is she did nothing she had to be forgiven for. Ian should have trusted her, and I don’t care about him finding his ex-wife in bed with someone else. Failing that, Callie should have demanded that he believe her and gotten really really angry with his reaction, instead of begging him to believe her. I guess KH needed that conflict and suspense to conclude the book, but it was very Hallmarky.

**original review 2016**

I’m reading Kristan Higgins again because there is no one better. Callie is probably the most adorable and likable heroine KH has written. I loved that some people (including the hero, sometimes) thought that her sunny, people-pleasing personality was something she needed to fix. She is self-aware enough that she knows she is the way she is due to her parents’ divorce when she was 8. But she likes the way she is, so screw it! I loved Ian, who is shy (almost asbergerish) and the opposite in every way from Callie. Kristan really knows how to write interesting, non-cardboard cut-out characters with real depth. She definitely has a stable of types and tropes that appear in all of her novels, but they are delightful every time, on the whole. Yes, yes, her signature “swear” words and interjections are too cutsie wootsie, but no one’s perfect. As always, a few tears, laugh-out-loud scenes and descriptions, and stand-up and cheer moments are present and accounted for. **5 out of 5 stars**

2015